


Champagne Rain

by softjohndae



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Car Racing, Fluff, Former Street Racer!Felix, M/M, Racer!Changbin, Strangers to Lovers, though that isn't discussed much but it's there alright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24663475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softjohndae/pseuds/softjohndae
Summary: Felix presses the gas pedal nearly to the hilt, he watches the speedometer climb up, up, up, and then he changes to a bigger gear again. He hears nothing, and he hears everything – the blood surging through him, his heart pounding in his chest, the engine of the car nearly roaring. Felix swallows, he grips the wheel harder. He can feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck, down his back. Felix feels euphoric. Weightless. The speed is his aphrodisiac.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 77
Kudos: 262





	Champagne Rain

Felix grips the steering wheel harder. The leather of his gloves presses against his skin, reminding him that he is present right here and right now. His eyes are focused on the road ahead – the asphalt in front of him boundless and never-ending. The stacks of wheels, the colors white and red blur into a nothingness that lasts for a blink of an eye. Felix moves the wheel a smidgen to the right. The car underneath him hums, it purrs, Felix presses the clutch down and changes to a smaller gear with his right hand. He straightens the car, then again turns the wheel slightly to the right. The screen behind the wheel tells him his speed has reached 170 kilometers per hour. He knows it isn’t that high. Yet he can’t shake off the adrenaline running through his veins.

Felix leaves the curves of the track behind him, nothing but straight road ahead. He doesn’t know this track by heart, in fact, he’s only ever driven it four times, and he’s careful. He has to be careful, the car vibrating underneath his thighs is not him. Felix presses the gas pedal nearly to the hilt, he watches the speedometer climb up, up, up, and then he changes to a bigger gear again. He hears nothing, and he hears everything – the blood surging through him, his heart pounding in his chest, the engine of the car nearly roaring. Felix swallows, he grips the wheel harder. He can feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck, down his back. Felix feels euphoric. Weightless. The speed is his aphrodisiac.

Too soon the track ends. He knows the next turn is the last one. Lightly Felix presses down the brake, the car follows his every order. There’s a man waving at him close to the pit road. Felix knows he has to go, he really has to, but he doesn’t want to. The adrenaline in him begs for him to continue, to build up the speed again, to drive through the track again and again, until he knows every curve, every turn by heart. Felix doesn’t give in to that adrenaline, he can’t afford that. He presses down the brake.

***

“Oh, man, that was amazing! How come you have never told me your drive like that!” Chan slings his arm around Felix’s shoulders as Felix pulls his helmet off. It’s red and black. Like everything around here.  
“You never asked.” Felix smiles at the boy. He finds it a little surprising, how comfortable the other boy is around him. They have barely known each other for a week.

“Took you long enough.” Felix hears the voice, and at the same time something – someone collides against his shoulder. Felix looks up, and is met with a gaze made of fire.  
“O-oh, I’m sor-“  
“Changbin! This is Felix. The newest member of the pit crew!” Chan cheerfully introduces Felix to Changbin. Felix knows him, of course he does. He’s the owner of that car, covered with sponsors. He’s the star of the show. The groundbreaker. And a pretty one at that, with his inky black locks, straight nose, full cheeks and pouty lips.  
“I don’t care.” Changbin mumbles as he pulls the helmet over his head. It’s black, like everything else. Black and red. Those are the colors here.

Chan frowns and pulls Felix along.  
“Don’t mind him, he’s always like that.” Felix takes a quick glance behind him, and he sees Changbin seating himself behind the wheel. Felix has just done the test laps for him, and now it is Changbin’s turn to practice for the upcoming race. Like the star he is. The brightest and the proudest. Felix hums as an answer to Chan as they walk from the pit lane to the garage. Felix has his uniform on, red and black overalls. He carries the helmet to its rightful place on the shelves at the back.

“Honestly, I don’t know what the fuck his problem is, I’ve never seen him being kind to anyone.” Chan scoffs and nudges a wheel of a car with his foot. The car is Changbin’s other race car. The older one. The worse one.  
“Whose problem?” Seungmin rises up from where he has been squatting behind that car. It’s black. Of course it is. It’s also covered with sponsors. Red streaks run down it’s sides. Seungmin has a wrench in his grimy hand and there’s vaseline on his forehead.  
“Changbin’s.”  
“I don’t know either. He’s kind to me.”  
“You have known him for years.”  
“Maybe so.” Seungmin cracks a smile at Chan. Felix figures this isn’t their first time talking about this topic.

Felix is the new pit crew member of Seo Changbin’s team. He’s been with the team for under a week, and he’s already winded. Chan is the team leader, Seungmin is a basic mechanic. Basic is an understatement, he’s smart as hell, knows everything about cars and how to bend them to work as he pleases. Well, all of them know everything about cars, they need to, after all, otherwise they wouldn’t work for one of the stars of South Korea’s car racing scene.

“Hand me a smaller wrench, will you?” Seungmin asks as he squats down on the floor. Felix takes one from the shelves that he’s already familiarized himself with. He’s been in the garage for three days, worked with the team and got to know them somewhat. They’re all nice. Felix has taken a liking to Chan and Seungmin, who are both close to his age. Felix hands the wrench to Seungmin and squats down next to him. Chan’s phone rings and he marches out of the garage, most likely to look over Changbin’s practice laps.

“What’s wrong with this one?” Oh, Felix knows what’s wrong. He just wants to initiate conversation.  
“This is the crash car.”  
“Oh?” During the last year’s Youth Grand Prix in Japan, Changbin had crashed against another contestant due to Hwang Hyunjin pushing his car from behind with his own. The impact hadn’t been bad to anything but Changbin’s pride. No injuries, somehow. Changbin’s car had swerved off the lane to the lawn next to the track while his co-racer’s car had swerved against a wall. No injuries for him either, luckily. Felix didn’t know Changbin personally, but he had heard the racer absolutely refused to talk about the crash.  
“I see.” Felix mumbles.

The garage is large, modern, way too high-tech for Felix to properly understand it just yet. The back wall is filled with shelves full of bolts and nuts and cables and everything he and his team would ever need to perfect Changbin’s car. Contrasting to the black cars with red accents, the entire garage is full of white, gleaming surfaces. It makes Felix a little anxious – the white surfaces bring out the black stains, all the grime, all the vaseline and oil spilled around. He knows he’s one of the people that has to clean it at the end of the day. The red patterns on the floor mark the places for the cars and all the equipment they need to fix, to perfect, to polish. The car Felix and Seungmin are currently hunched over is inside the other markings. The others are empty.

Felix helps Seungmin to fix the race car, even though both of them know it’s useless. Changbin will never drive that car again in a race, it’s scrap metal now. He has a new car. And he prefers new models, of course he does, Felix has read that about him on a magazine. Actually, he knows quite a lot about Changbin through media – he’s distant, he hates Hwang Hyunjin, he likes the combination of red and black, he gives short answers in interviews, his co-racers refer to him as a cool guy. He’s also referred as the next champion, unless Lee Minho doesn’t get his game up and defend his title as the current champion. Some say he’s a stone cold bitch. Felix, with the experience of today’s encounter, agrees. He’s pretty sure Seungmin doesn’t agree with Felix.

And how has Felix ended up as a part of his pit crew? He honestly still isn’t absolutely certain. It has been a lucky string of events, he’s sure of that. From a friend, known as Chan, he had heard that someone was looking for a team member to a star racer, and they had wanted someone with nimble fingers and quick reflexes, someone who knew everything about cars by heart, someone who knew languages, someone who could drive. So Felix had applied. And he had got the job. And now he’s here, oil spilled on his red overalls, a bit too hot to wear for a summer day like today. He hears the garage door sliding open and the low hum of the motor as Changbin drives the car to its rightful place. Felix and Seungmin both stand up from where they have been sitting. Felix’s knees ache.

Changbin steps out of the car and throws the keys at Felix. He catches them at the last moment, stumbling a little in his steps.  
“Wash the car. Check the motor, it doesn’t hum like it used to, there’s something wrong with it.” He says, eyeing Felix up and down, as if calculating if Felix is worthy enough to be a member of his pit crew. Felix sees the miniscule frown set into his features. His stomach drops.

***

Felix doesn’t hate Changbin. He really doesn’t. He’s just somehow the most annoying person he has ever met. He makes his skin crawl with irritation. Everything Felix does is somehow off, he does it wrong, or not well enough. Felix tries to understand, he really does – Changbin is an incredibly busy person, he’s stressed, and his way of getting rid of that stress is taking it out on other people. Some people do that, Felix understands that. It’s not a healthy coping mechanism by any means, and Felix really tries to not take it to the heart, but even Seungmin finds Changbin’s behavior odd. But Felix doesn’t hate Changbin. He’s just mildly annoyed.

Felix grips the steering wheel, turns it a bit to the right. He’s on the track again, and the motor under him hums in approval. He’s just fixed it, made it a bit better, and he can hear the difference. A little smile sneaks up on Felix’s lips. He’s done that, and he’s proud of himself, and a tiny voice at the back of his brain hopes Changbin will notice that. His efforts. That he’s not so bad. He hates it, that he seeks for the validation of the racer, even if he knows it’s useless. Setting someone on a pedestal like that, it’s not like Felix. He doesn’t want validation, he doesn’t need it, he knows it in the logical part of his brain. Yet somehow he just wants one smile. One ‘thank you’. One sign that Changbin is capable of proper human interaction without being a complete asshole.

Felix speeds up on the straight road. He almost knows this track by heart now. Not entirely, but almost, he’ll get there some day, and that some day will be soon, he hopes. Everything around him is a blur, a haze, his eyes are fixated to the road, every now and then flickering onto the rear view mirror out of an old habit. He knows there won’t be anyone behind him. He’s racing against no one but himself.

After three laps he turns to the pit lane and brings the car to a full stop in front of the garage. Changbin is waiting already, he’s looking at his phone, tapping the screen gently. He doesn’t even look up. Felix rises up from the car, leaving the keys inside.  
“Me and Seungmin checked the motor. It worked just fine a moment ago but if you hear the noise again, we’ll have to order some new parts.” He tells Changbin. The racer still doesn’t look up. He’ dressed in his practice suit, red, white, black and sponsorless. His helmet is under his arm, resting against his side. He puts his phone away and without even looking at Felix, passes him and walks to the car. Felix rolls his eyes and is just about to leave back to the garage, until Changbin speaks up:

“There’s a stain here.” Oh, and he’s pissed. Felix turns around, Changbin is pointing at the front seat. Felix must have got some oil on his working overalls that he hasn’t noticed.  
“Didn’t you check your clothes before driving? These are leather.” Changbin nags. Felix has to keep himself from sighing. They’re faux leather, not real leather. He grabs a clean rag from the top of the oil canisters by the door and walks up to the car. There’s a tiny stain of grease on the seat. Felix wipes it off, he feels Changbin’s stare on him, measuring and annoyed.

“I’ll get a new driver if you’re not going to step your game up.” He mumbles, and Felix’s patience snaps. He turns to Changbin with a Cheshire grin on his face and purrs:  
“Here you go, maestro, your throne is clean now.” And he knows he shouldn’t, Changbin is well capable of firing him on the spot if he wants to. He has the power to do so. Yet still Felix has to continue, because he’s sick of the energy the other boy is constantly giving him.  
“Who the hell pissed in your breakfast cereal this morning? Or do you just hate me that much?”

But instead he just gets a dumbfounded look, mouth a little agape. Changbin is taken by surprise by Felix firing back at him, and Felix figures right on the spot that most people in the crew rarely talk back at him. The Cheshire grin turns to a crease in between Felix’s brows as he eyes the boy up and down, the smile dying out. Changbin takes in a shaky breath and Felix doesn’t give him time to answer. He turns his back to the boy and with long strides walks towards the garage, his intention to go tell Chan that he should go count laps for Changbin.

“Where did you learn to drive?” He hears from behind his back. A little, long forgotten fire lights up in Felix. He turns his head to the side, seeing the boy still standing there in front of the open door from the corner of his eye. Changbin is a racer, he has been trained on these tracks, starting from karting cars all the way to the big league. From baby steps to leaps. All done under the eye of supervision, in the frames of law.  
“Same as you.” Just the illegal way. The way of the streets.

***

Felix leans against the wooden doorframe and looks outside. It’s pouring rain, the droplets are creating puddles on the paved floor in front of the garages. He’s the last one at the venue, everyone else has already left. He’s just about to leave the racetrack, and he knows he should run to his bus stop that’s roughly a kilometer away, but he just can’t bring himself to run into the rain. He didn’t take his umbrella with him in the morning, and he doesn’t own a car of his own. Or well, he does. It’s just in pieces in the garage of his godfather a few blocks away from his own small apartment. Felix is trying to fix it as a little hobby of his. And then he’ll sell it, and buy another car and tear it to pieces and fix it back up, and then he’ll sell that car and the cycle repeats itself. He should probably get himself a proper car. But why bother, when the public transport in this city is already so good?

Felix sighs, slings his backpack over his shoulder and steps into the rain. It doesn’t last long until the fabric of his black jeans starts to stick to his skin. Lucky for him, the leather jacket gives him a bit of cover. Soon his silvery locks are matted against his head, wet and dripping, and for a moment Felix wishes he hadn’t left his bed this morning. The day was just fine until the point Felix had decided to drive Changbin up the wall, and now he’s a bit scared the boy is going to complain to his father about Felix and Felix gets kicked out of the team. Then again, does he really want to continue working in such an environment where he’s constantly bullied by one person? He doesn’t really know.

Out of the blue, Felix hears the low rumble of an engine next to him. He glances to his left, and surprisingly, a car slows down next to him. Felix knows whose car that is. It’s a matte black Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster with red accents. There’s two people around here who can afford such cars, and Felix knows the both of them. The window on Felix’s side slides down.  
“Do you need a ride home?” A familiar voice asks, a bit wavering. Felix can see Changbin has changed out of his racing suit. Felix thought he had been alone in the garage, he thought Changbin had left earlier. He hadn’t seen the boy during the whole evening. Why is he here now?  
“I can walk just fine.” Felix answers. He doesn’t want to bother Changbin. What is he even doing here? Why is he being friendly?

Felix continues his walk for a few steps, but he doesn’t get far. Changbin drives the car closer, matches it to his steps.  
“Seriously. No need, it’s not a long walk.” Felix mumbles. He can feel the water seeping into his sneakers.  
“It’s not a long drive either.” Changbin insists.  
“I’m all wet already and your car is expensive, anyway. It’s fine.”  
“Oh, get in.”

Felix swallows his pride and opens the door. He nearly hits his head on the low roof as he sits down. He pulls the car door shut and buckles the seat belt before he dares to look around. To say the car is fucking expensive looking is an understatement. Everything is either black or red, spotless and pristine. The lights dancing on the console in the middle accentuate all of the technology that fills the dashboard. Felix doesn’t dare to touch anything. He doesn’t even dare to move. He’s dirty, he doesn’t fit in here.

“What’s your address?” Changbin asks in a low voice, speeding up the car. Felix tells him the address, which the boy punches in the in-built navigator. A gentle voice of a woman fills the silence, telling Changbin to turn right from the next intersection. Felix stares still in awe as Changbin changes gears to a bigger one. Sure, Felix has seen expensive cars. He has seen supercars. He’s just never been in one.

And now he’s sitting in one. Next to Changbin, who he has assumed to hate him. Looks like Felix’s gut feeling has been wrong all this time, or this is just Changbin’s way of firing him.  
“So, where have you learned to drive? Chan said you’ve never professionally trained.”  
“Is there something remarkable of my driving?”  
“No. You just have a different vibe.” So Changbin has been watching him drive? How delightful!  
“Here and there.” Felix answers, vague but true. He doesn’t feel like elaborating.  
“What’s here and there?”  
“Well, you know, I’m from Australia, so I learned to drive there.”  
“Fine, don’t tell me.”

Felix suppresses a smile. He decides right then and there that he likes driving Changbin up the wall. The snarky tone of his voice disappears that way, he drops his defenses, sounds like a kicked puppy. He’s used to getting his way with people, but Felix refuses to give into that. He looks out of the window, still stiff and unmoving. The lady tells Changbin to take the next turn to the left. The track, Changbin’s hometrack, the one his father owns, is situated in the outskirts of the city, on the wealthier side of it. Felix lives at the other side. The not-so-wealthy side.  
“Why Aventador?” Felix asks.  
“I couldn’t get Huracán in matte black back then.”  
“Ah.” So demanding.

The buildings of the city grow, the skyscrapers reach for the sky. The windshield wipers vigorously wipe the rain out of the window. The city lights seem hazy in the pouring rain. Felix has never been in a car so silent. It feels like he’s sitting on a cloud. The Aventador is smooth, it seems to glide just a little above the ground. Felix feels guilty that his wet clothes are ruining the faux leathery seats. For a moment Felix wonders if he should ask Changbin about his infatuation with the colors red and black, but then he decides not to.

“How did you get interested in cars?” Changbin abruptly asks. Felix notices the side-eye he gets as Changbin takes a turn to the left to a motorway circling the city. Felix shrugs;  
“I don’t know. I just did. My godfather taught me to fix cars when I was little, and that’s where it started. Then I got old enough to learn to drive and fell in love with the speed. The control.” The danger. Felix doesn’t say that out loud.  
“Before that I started doing it as a summer project, disassembling and assembling cars again for cash, fixing, tuning them a little and so on and now it’s just… now I’m here.” He continues. Changbin nods.  
“You have any projects now?”  
“Yeah. Though, since I’m working in your crew now, it’s been a little… forgotten.”

Changbin hums as an answer. They fall in silence that is neither awkward nor comfortable. It just is. Felix stares at the road ahead. He recognizes the surroundings, they aren’t far from his home. The people get more curious, it’s not every day that a super car like Changbin’s is seen around these parts of the city. The buildings get lower again, the streets get narrower. Changbin pulls to a smaller alley and the navigator tells with a gentle voice that he’s arrived into his destination. He glances at the building on right. It’s just a basic apartment building, a little weather-beaten from the outside but just fine from the inside, Felix knows that. He also knows that with the pay he’s going to get from his new job he would be able to move to a nicer flat in the better part of the city. He’s just not sure if he wants to, he’s home here. A little ragged, a little forgotten. A little invincible, just like he likes it.

“Thanks. Sorry about your seats.” Felix opens the door and steps out of the car into the rain. He takes his backpack and slings it on his shoulder.  
“See you.” He says, not expecting an answer and shuts the door as careful as he can. He’s surprised when he hears the window rolling down once more and Changbin speaking up:  
“Hey, sorry for being an asshole.”

***

Everyone else notices it before Felix does.  
“Did you talk to Changbin or how come he’s acting like a human again?” Seungmin asks, a smile tugging the corners of his mouth. Felix shrugs, he hasn’t even realized the boy has been acting somehow different. Or perhaps he has. Changbin even said hi to him this morning. Otherwise he’s just been quiet and reserved, like usually. Felix pushes a tool drawer shut and helps Seungmin roll a few wheels back to their own places. The first race of this year is a week away. In three days the whole crew, Felix included, is going to travel to Japan for the Youth Grand Prix there. After that it’s a two week pause, and then they will head for Beijing. Excitement stirs in Felix’s guts; he’s been waiting for the season to begin ever since he got the job.

“What the fuck?” A shrill yell interrupts Seungmin and Felix’s conversation.  
“What the hell do you mean he’s sponsoring him this year?”  
“Changbin, calm down, it’s not like-“  
“I am calm! What the hell!”

Changbin storms into the garage, holding to his helmet. He has fire in his eyes. Chan follows close after him, a little helpless. Felix doesn’t know where to focus or is he even allowed to hear this conversation, so he continues to clean the surface of the shelf in the back.  
“Why the fuck did no one tell me? Why the fuck wasn’t I asked anything?”  
“I am telling you now! And it was your dad’s idea, not mine, talk to him!” Changbin stops in the middle of the garage and turns to Chan. He runs a hand through the black locks, clearly annoyed, clearly fuming. Felix feels a tiny bit sorry for him.

“So you’re telling me that Hwang fucking Hyunjin is going to be using our track as his hometrack for this year because my fucking father is sponsoring him?! Does he know who the fuck he is?”  
“Changbin, please, it’s not just Hyunjin, it’s also-“  
“It’s also Lee fucking Minho! And that fucking new boy who no one knows about!”  
“His name is Yang Jeongin-“  
“I don’t care! I want them out of my fucking home! Why the fuck is he sponsoring them?!”

Felix and Seungmin try to make themselves look as small as possible, as invincible as possible. Felix looks at Seungmin, who looks a little panicked, and he makes a mental note to ask the boy about that. Felix knows Changbin and Hwang Hyunjin have been beefing ever since both of them started to race in the same series, their rivalry turning from friendly banter to just blind hatred. Or well, at least from Changbin’s side. Hyunjin always swears to the interviewers that it’s still just some friendly banter.

Lee Minho is the star, the Champion, and Felix finds it really odd that Minho has even accepted Changbin’s father to sponsor him. He has plenty of sponsors, he’s lived past few years in Japan and trained there, he’s famous and definitely not in need of Changbin’s father to sponsor him. Of Yang Jeongin Felix doesn’t know anything, except that he’s the one to look out for. And what’s even more odd to Felix is that all of these people have accepted the sponsors this close to the start of the race year.

Then again, the older Seo is mighty rich, and has connections all over the world. Who knows, he may have been sponsoring these people for years now without anyone knowing.

“This will blow up the fucking press.” Changbin, with a loud bang drops his helmet on the shelf on the other wall. Chan looks distressed, and from the look on his face Felix can tell he’s also three seconds away from snapping at Changbin.  
“We know that. We’ll just have to keep low profile. Avoid questions. You know the drill by now.”  
“Hwang is going to be so fucking annoying about this.” And by the current state of Changbin, he has already managed to get under the racer’s skin, and he’s not even present. Impressive.  
“Then don’t give him reason to be even more annoying. Just chill, man. This isn’t the end of the world.”

Changbin simply stares at Chan, who stares back. The tension in the air is getting unbearable, and Felix feels like he has to interrupt it somehow. He’s just about to open his mouth to ask Chan about the flights three days away, but Seungmin manages to drop his wrench with a loud clang on the floor. The noise echoes in the garage.

“Felix, do three laps for me. Check the tire pressures, they were getting wonky yesterday.” Changbin sharply orders and marches out of the garage.

***

Cameras are flashing, people are yelling, Felix is getting overwhelmed. He briefly holds on to Seungmin’s sleeve as they walk from the pit stalls to the main hall of the event, where the winners are being interviewed. A few reporters try to ask them questions whether it is true that the Favorite Four, as known as Seo Changbin, Lee Minho, Hwang Hyunjin and Yang Jeongin are all now under the same main sponsor and will be having the same home track in South Korea, but Felix and Seungmin ignore them. Their matching team jackets, red and black, give away to everyone that they’re part of Changbin’s crew.

The hall is filled with people, the winning triumvirate are sitting in front of a white wall filled with the names of the biggest sponsors of the Osaka Grand Prix Competition. There’s a silvery trophy in front of Changbin. It contrasts against the black and red of his racing suit, and for a brief moment Felix simply stares, losing track of Seungmin until the other boy pulls him next to him at the opposite wall, where the rest of their team is standing. Changbin looks slightly displeased, it’s in the arch of his eyebrow as he answers the interview questions, calm and collected. His hair is damp from the champagne rain.

“That Seo boy always looks so bitchy, no matter what.” Felix hears someone mutter close to him. It’s one of the sponsors, Minho’s, he recognizes the man. Felix has really never thought about it, but he sort of agrees with him. Changbin has a constant frown on his face, always. He looks like he’s pissed about everything and everyone. Felix doesn’t really remember seeing Changbin ever smile, but he doesn’t do it on purpose, does he? Perhaps he just has a resting bitch face. Felix wants to find out if that’s the case, so he stares forwards at the boy, and is surprised to find that Changbin is already looking at him. Felix ever so slightly arches his eyebrow as a question, but Changbin turns back to the interviewer in front of the trio.

“Mister Seo, how do you feel about the recent announcement of mister Hwang joining you and making your hometrack his as well?”  
“Indifferent.”

Hwang Hyunjin’s laugh is clear and bright amidst the chaos of the interview hall.

***

“Felix, help me with this.” Felix swipes sweat off of his face and hunches over the engine of Changbin’s car. He loosens a few bolts as Chan orders him to. Chan mumbles something about the car needing a better engine, that the model in Changbin’s car is good but not long-lasting enough. The sun is scorching Felix’s back, sweat trickling down despite him tying the sleeves of his overalls on his waist instead of keeping them properly on. He can feel the black snake tattoo circling his right arm burning under the sun as the dark ink absorbs light.

Suddenly, a loud screech interrupts their working, a car comes to a halt right in front of the garage next to theirs. Felix knows who it is without looking up. The door of the car swings open and out steps none other than Hwang Hyunjin, having just finished his training laps around the track. He pulls the neon green helmet off of his head, the blondish locks falling around his face in a way that seems nearly supernatural.  
“Good day, everyone! Nice to meet you!” Hyunjin’s voice is loud and clear as he walks towards Felix. The members of Changbin’s pit crew eye each other a little oddly, and Felix figures this isn’t a frequent sight.

While Changbin’s colors are red and black, Hyunjin’s are neon green and violet. It’s almost a sickly combo, but somehow so utterly on point. The colors are so vibrant that looking at Hyunjin’s car makes Felix’s eyes nearly hurt.  
“That’s a nice one. Nearly knocked me off the track last week.” Hyunjin smiles, wide and beautiful as he gently kicks one of the wheels of Changbin’s car. His practice racing suit isn’t as full of sponsors as his usual attire is, but the neon green is still a striking sight.

Hyunjin leans against Changbin’s car as he sticks his hand out to Felix.  
“Name’s Hwang Hyunjin, pleasure to be working at the same field.” From the corner of his eye, Felix can see Changbin coming out of the garage and stopping right on his tracks. Felix takes the hand and shakes it.  
“Lee Felix. Nice to meet you.”

Hyunjin simply nods at Chan, they most likely know each other already. Then Hyunjin spots Seungmin hunched over the other side of the car:  
“Seungmin!” He exclaims, a smile widening on his features. Seungmin stands up and is just about to say something as Hyunjin engulfs the boy into a hug.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Felix hears Changbin approaching. He steps in front of him right on time, forces Changbin to stop next to him and Chan.  
“Chill, am just here to make some friends. Don’t worry, I won’t pry on your secrets.” Hyunjin sticks his tongue out on Changbin with a smirk as he lets go of Seungmin. The former is blushing madly, and Felix finally understands the panicked look on Seungmin’s face a week ago.

Another boy approaches them from Hyunjin’s garage, the one next to Changbin’s. He’s wearing similar overalls as Felix, only his are green. Then a smile spreads on Felix’s features as he recognizes the boy, and soon he, too, gets engulfed in a hug so warm and comforting.  
“Felix!” Jisung shrieks, making Felix’s ears ring.  
“The hell, man? I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you last week in Japan. You’re in Seo’s team, huh? That’s amazing! How come I’m only finding about this now?” Jisung blabbers, as he usually does when he’s surrounded by new people. Felix knows that the second the boy is around familiar people, he turns rather quiet, observing, a little reserved more than the center of attention. Felix has known him for years.

Felix chuckles:  
“You didn’t ask. And I know you have been busy, I didn’t want to bother you.” An introvert, easily overwhelmed, Felix didn’t want to press it.  
“I haven’t been here for long, don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything. I would have reached out to you sooner or later.” Jisung pulls away from Felix to shake Chan’s hand. A little reluctantly he introduces himself to Changbin, too, who has finally gathered his cool and shakes Jisung’s hand with a nod. He decides to ignore Hyunjin’s existence as he stomps back into the garage, muttering something about having to make phone calls.

  
Hyunjin claps his hands together, a little glimmer of mischief in his eyes:  
“So, who here is Changbin’s test driver? I want to race!”

***

Jeongin is all smiles and laughs, that’s the first thing Felix learns about him as he comes to introduce himself with his crew. He’s a rather new racer, and still competes in the lower rank series, but Felix has a feeling that he will be attending the same Youth Grand Prix tour next year, the one where Changbin and Hyunjin already drive. Jeongin is also incredibly friendly, warm and he has a comforting aura – quite a contrary to what he’s on the track. Behind the wheel he’s sharp, calculative and bordering on reckless, much akin to his close friend, Hyunjin. And oh, Hyunjin loves to boast about him, that’s what Felix learns, too.

And Hyunjin is funny. And smart. And Felix can entirely see why Changbin is so irritated with him, he has his way with his words, and Seungmin is absolutely smitten over him. Felix doesn’t know if Changbin has noticed that, most likely has, since he has known Seungmin far longer than Felix. Jisung has invited Felix over to Hyunjin’s garage, Seungmin is there, too, as well as Jeongin and a few other people Felix can’t remember the names of. Chan is leaning against the doorframe, listening to Hyunjin talk. Felix thinks this is nice – the whole racing venue has been so quiet with only Changbin and his team residing in it, but now it’s much more bustling and alive.

Felix knows Minho and his team have arrived yesterday, but so far he hasn’t seen the racer. From what Felix has understood from Hyunjin, the boy is quite shy and reserved, not really bothering to talk to anyone outside his crew. Felix listens to Hyunjin, he tells every single rumor he has heard of the upcoming races, who’s participating, who’s not, what kind of relationships the racers have. Hyunjin and Changbin aren’t the only beefing ones, that’s been clear to Felix since day one. But they’re the main stars, so the spotlight is always on them.

But as all things, nice ones must come to an end, too. Felix bids farewell to his new friends as he knows the last bus back to the city is leaving soon, and he can’t afford to miss it (or rather, he doesn’t want to bother anyone to drive him back home as he still lives on the wrong side of the town). Felix picks up his backpack and hoists it over his shoulder, his sneakers thudding against the asphalt outside the venue. It’s a beautiful evening, the sky is drawing violet due to the setting sun.

It doesn’t take long for Felix to hear the familiar hum of Changbin’s car. It slows down next to him, the window rolling down, and a familiar voice calls out to him:  
“Need a ride?”  
“Not really.”  
“I’m trying to be nice.”

Felix sighs and opens the car door, sliding on to the leathery seats for the second time ever. The car still astonishes him. He’s still afraid of touching anything. He buckles his seatbelt as carefully as he can as Changbin sets the navigator on again.  
“What are you doing here at this time, anyway? Didn’t your practice end a few hours ago?” Felix asks, out of curiosity. Usually Changbin leaves right after his training is over, not bothering to stay behind or help his pit crew. And it’s not his job, so Felix doesn’t really blame him for it.  
“I could ask you the same thing. I didn’t think you’d be that fond of Hwang Hyunjin.”

Typical Changbin, avoiding the question.  
“I’ve known Jisung for years, he invited us over and Hyunjin isn’t as bad as you think he is. You should give him a chance.”  
“What chance? He’s been driving me up the wall since day one.”  
“And if I recall correct, you have been just the same. If you’re trying to be nice to me, you should try to be nice to him, too.”

Changbin is quiet for a few moments, the navigator voice filling the air. Felix feels like he managed to hit some sort of nerve, and for a brief second he feels a little sorry.

“Have you got any new projects lately?” Changbin then asks, changing the topic. Felix lets him, it’s not his place to lecture the other boy of some basic fucking manners.  
“No. I’m barely progressing in my current one. And I won’t have time to do so since we’re leaving for Beijing next week.” And then to Rome. And then to Paris. And then to Sofia. And then to Berlin. And then to Hong Kong. And then a two-month break, and then the Grand Prix would continue on American soil for a few weeks until returning to Europe.  
“Do you need help with it? I kind of miss just… repairing. Tuning. And so on.”  
“Then why won’t you help us at the pit when you’re not driving.” Felix cocks an eyebrow, a gentle lilt of a grin tugging the corner of his mouth. He’s not serious. Just a bit taken aback that Changbin would want to help them. Then again, he doesn’t really even know the boy that well yet.

Again, Changbin is silent for a moment:  
“I don’t know I just… I feel like I would be in the way? I don’t know how you do… everything… all that. And I don’t want to bother anyone, I know I’m not very liked among the crew already and…” And Changbin bites his lip.  
“Just, nevermind. It doesn’t matter.” He says, his voice trailing off. Felix doesn’t really know what to say. Could it be, that after all, Changbin did care what people around him said about him, despite his reputation as the ice prince? Of course it could. Changbin wasn’t heartless. No one was.  
“Help me next time, then. I promise I won’t be bothered by you.” Felix says.

***

Beijing.

The second stop of the Youth Grand Prix is currently being raced. Felix hears Chan giving the pit crew orders from his earpiece, Changbin is half a minute away from the pit stop. All is planned beforehand, the strategy has been perfected, each and every one of them knows what to do, and how much time they can use. Everything is carefully calculated. Felix is holding to a tire that they need to change as fast as they can. Seungmin is standing next to him, all the needed equipment in his hands. Their gang of mechanics consists of twelve people, two of them currently sitting on the side. This is Changbin’s second last pit stop, the last one will be for refueling.

It is not going well. The weather has drastically changed, the winds have picked up, rain is pouring down yet the competition still hasn’t stopped. Changbin comes to a halt in front of the pit stall, the crew lunges forwards to change his tires to those with better hold on the wet asphalt. Everything works out as it is supposed to, it takes them 14 seconds to get the job done, and then Changbin is speeding off again. Felix feels Seungmin tap him on the shoulder, their job is done. They won’t need to change the tires again, it’s only a few laps left anymore.

And Changbin is losing. Not bad, but he’s losing to Hyunjin, and to Changbin that in its essence is the same as he’d be in the last place. Minho is leading, of course he is, but not that much. Hyunjin clearly has got something done to his car, or the change to the same home circuit with Changbin has made a difference in his ability to drive. Felix isn’t sure. But what he is sure about is the fact that Hyunjin is very fun to race with, his way of driving reminds Felix of the streets of Sydney.

One pit stop more, Felix can see it, how annoyed Changbin is, and then he speeds off again, a little too close to crashing against that one German driver on the pit road. Minutes later he speeds over the finishing lane, fraction of a second behind Hyunjin. And Felix knows he would have won. He would have won if it weren’t for Hyunjin sneaking right in front of him at the last curve, blocking his way and forcing him to stay that fraction of a second behind. Felix feels sorry for Changbin for a second, but then he realizes this is probably for the best – Changbin needs desperately to get off his high horse.

The crowd cheers, Changbin is annoyed, kicks the tire and drops his helmet on the ground with a loud bang as he walks into the garage. He’s fuming, and Felix thinks the racer should probably attend an anger management course one of these days. Daddy’s boy, he’s always got what he has wanted. Felix sees where he’s headed – right towards the door which leads to the next garage over, coincidentally Hyunjin’s, and steps right in front of Changbin because he knows no one else is going to do that and Chan is outside.

“Move. I want to talk to him.” Changbin has embers in his eyes, his hair is matted against his forehead and Felix can see the little droplets of sweat on his upper lip.  
“You want to punch him in the jaw, not to talk to him.” Felix doesn’t move, he doesn’t budge. The little difference in their heights gives him the higher ground, and he forces Changbin to look slightly up while talking to him. Felix sort of understands his anger – he’s been there himself. He, too, has punched his opponent in the face because he dared to slash his tires right before the race. But this isn’t the time nor the place for that.

“Felix, get out of my way.” Changbin hisses through his teeth.  
“No. Get a grip of yourself.” Changbin takes a step to the side, Felix follows: “Is he really worth it? Is he worth all the paparazzies outside? Weren’t you supposed to be nice to him?”

The mention of the cameras makes Changbin’s steps halt, and Felix can see the way his shoulders loosen up, just a little.  
“How can I be nice to him when he acts like the fucking king of the world?”  
“And you don’t? Are you saying you wouldn’t have done the exact same thing in his place?” There’s bite in Felix’s tone of speech.

Changbin seems to deflate as the words leave Felix’s lips. His face turns from an angry frown to that of a kicked puppy (Felix decides he very much prefers the kicked puppy over the angry frown any day).  
“Whatever.” The boy mumbles, an embarrassed blush creeping up from the back of his neck. Felix oh so desperately tries to not roll his eyes at the boy’s childish anger of the lost race. And it wasn’t even a loss, he’s still rising to the podium with a bronze trophy in his hands, he’s still going to stand under the champagne rain. This ridiculous rivalry is getting out of hand on Changbin’s side. Has been for a long time.

“Go get changed. You still need to be interviewed.” Felix says. It’s not his job, Felix isn’t his manager, and not even the crew leader, yet for some reason he’s still looking after the boy. Changbin eyes him up and down before sighing in defeat. Felix isn’t entirely certain, but he thinks he hears a quiet “sorry” leaving Changbin’s lips.

***

It becomes a habit.

Every day after work Changbin waits for Felix, either in the garage, in the office or outside for Felix to walk out, and then he drives him home. Felix finds it odd at first, but pays no further attention, it’s nice, he doesn’t have to pay for the bus. Felix just goes along with it, until Seungmin asks Felix about it and Felix admits, yes, Changbin has been taking him home lately, is there something odd about it? Apparently there is. Seungmin gets all curious, but Felix has nothing to offer to him – at least he thinks he doesn’t.

It had taken a moment for Felix to understand that the first time Changbin had picked him up on that rainy evening hadn’t been a coincidence. Changbin had wanted to do that, and a week after Beijing, Felix gets a confession as to why he had done that:  
“I… well, you’re new and I wanted to get to know you better and you seemed to get along with everyone so well so… I thought I wanted to get along with you well, too… And apologize for being an ass on your first day. Even though I am an ass to everyone. Not on their first days but on the regular. Which isn’t nice. And I’m trying to change that. I’m rambling again.” And then he turns his head back to the road ahead. It’s a rainy evening, and the darkness in the car hides the blush on Changbin’s ears.  
“You sure have odd ways of initiating friendship.” Felix laughs.  
“Yeah, I know. I’m not very… good at it, I guess.”

Felix learns more about Changbin. He’s not the stone cold bitch the world think he is, oh no. He stutters. He nervously fiddles with his sleeves every time Felix steps in the car, or when he has to wait for him, or there are many people around that he knows don’t really care for him (meaning his crew, even if Felix begs to differ, they do care about him, but Changbin should just try to be a little more responsive and less mean). Changbin is the only child, he’s distant from his family, he lives basically alone because his father is never home. He was homeschooled, bright and brilliant, straight A’s and his father’s expectations for him are high as the sky.

He loves cars, he loves racing, he loves the speed, the fast lane, the feeling of his hands on the wheel. He sucks at cooking. He adores Seungmin, thinks of him as his little brother. He looks up to Minho, but he still hasn’t gathered the courage to properly speak to him.

On the other hand, Felix has met Minho a couple of times now. His training times are different from Changbin’s, so they rarely meet, but when they do, Minho always gives Felix this cat-like grin and a nod as an acknowledgement.

But Chan, oh Chan. Felix had had no idea that Chan was so close to Minho, not until the moment he walked in on them making out on top of the front of Changbin’s race car. Chan had made Felix swear he was not going to say a word about that, and Felix planned on keeping his word. So now he’s not saying anything about them to Changbin, even if he probably should. Then again, Chan and Changbin are rather close, Chan is most likely going to tell about his and Minho’s… relationship to the other boy himself. It’s not Felix’s business to meddle.

It becomes a habit, and Felix sort of likes it.

Changbin isn’t so bad. He’s nice. He likes talking about cars, naturally. But he’s also keen on other things, and not just cars, there’s more underneath the surface. He wants to try motorcycle racing. He’s a sucker for Lord of the Rings, that’s what Felix learns about him, too. And he sucks at cooking. And Changbin learns things of Felix as well. He lives alone, rest of his family are in Australia, he and Jisung went to same school and have been besties ever since. Their friendship is strong, they can go for weeks without talking without anything changing. Felix prefers reading over movies. He loves tattoos, he wants more of them. And he’s pretty decent at cooking.

Felix still doesn’t talk about how he learned to drive, even though the other boy constantly tries to make him tell about it. He doesn’t want to. Deep down he’s afraid he’ll scare the other boy away, even if he’s way too proud to admit it to himself.

It becomes a habit, and Felix is no longer afraid of pushing every single button on the console of Changbin’s Roadster.

***

Felix doesn’t really know what it is at first. In between the sunny days, smell of gasoline and the engines revving, he finds his eyes lingering. He finds himself halting in his steps more often, his gaze following the race car speeding around the circuit. He finds himself more often deep in thought, and most of those thoughts are about the racer in red and black.

Felix doesn’t even notice it at first, their shoulders brushing, Changbin telling him good morning and good evening and good night, sleep well, see you tomorrow, until he hears one of the pit crew members talk about it. How he’s coaxing Changbin open somehow. Felix had never thought he would have the power to do that to anyone, and then all of a sudden, he does.

What he does notice, is the wide smile spreading on Changbin’s lips every time Felix opens the door to the garage early in the morning, and finds Changbin already sitting there, a wrench in his hand and some grime on his cheek.

***

Rome is nearly as romantic as Felix had always anticipated it to be, and he’s sad he doesn’t have more time in his hands to go sight-see. The circuit they’re in in magnificent, portraying the ancient Rome in the best way possible. The crowd cheers, louder than in Beijing and Felix is close to hearing them through his helmet and earpieces. It’s three laps until the end, Changbin is 17 seconds away from the pit stop, he needs new tires and to refuel. Felix is in charge of changing the front wheel on the driver’s side with Seungmin. Always with Seungmin, they’re an inseparable team now.

“Hey, sunshine, remember to double check.” He hears Chan call, and he knows it’s about him. Sunshine. It’s a nice nickname, one of the pit crew members started using it a while ago and then it spread:  
“Your smile is just so sunny, you know? Lights up our day.” It was most likely the nicest compliment Felix had ever got.

The red and black car comes to a halt in front of the pit stall, brakes screeching. The team gets to work, perfect control in what seems to an outsider an utter chaos. Seungmin unplugs the old tire, Felix slams the new in its place and Seungmin screws the bolts again. Then they take two hasty steps back to give the car space and not to hurt themselves. It’s only taken them a few seconds, under ten.

Felix glances at the boy in the driver’s seat, gloved hands gripping the wheel with calmness. Changbin knows he’s in the lead, but not too much. He can’t fuck up now, not when the two racers behind him are only a fraction of a second away. Felix lets him lull in the thought a blink of an eye, how exhilarating it would be if Changbin won the race. It would get him back to the second place in the overall points of the Grand Prix.

Then his eyes meet Changbin’s, the tinted windows don’t shade enough for Felix to miss them. It takes a heartbeat, two, for Felix to understand that Changbin is staring right back at him, an unreadable glint to his gaze. Felix feels like he’s drifting off, suddenly those eyes all that he can see. He’s hyperaware of the gaze piercing through him, his overalls feel a size too tight, something in his mind clicks. Air is being pulled away from his lungs, his whole being seems to seize for that moment that doesn’t last longer than five seconds.

Five. Crucial. Seconds.

Everyone else is already waiting. They have been done five seconds ago.

Those five are all Hyunjin needs to get past Changbin on the track.

Chan kicks the side of Changbin’s car:  
“Go!” He can hear Chan yelling right beside his ear, so loud it rings. Changbin seems to snap back to the moment, his eyes finally leaving Felix’s as he hits the gas.

Seungmin has to pull Felix from his shoulder. He watches horrified as Changbin falls behind, one second, two seconds, three, four, and suddenly he’s on the fifth place, completely dropping down from the throned triumvirate. Guilt engulfs him. He knows that without him standing where he stood, Changbin would have sped off right on time, right when he had meant to do so. Instead, they had stared an extra five seconds at each other, and Changbin had completely lost his track in the game.

Felix watches, his guts twisting and turning, as Changbin races across the finish lane in the sixth place.

***

The flight back home is silent. The expensive beige faux leather seats of the Seo team’s private jet should feel more comfortable, Felix knows that. The air is pressuring. Everyone wants an answer, what took Changbin so long, but all of them know they’re not going to get one. Changbin is sulking at the corner, staring outside with his headphones on. Ever since he finished the race, he’s been avoiding Felix like the plague. And Felix isn’t really complaining. He wouldn’t even know what to say, let alone how to react.

It isn’t until Chan walks up to Changbin.  
“What the hell, man? We were winning?”

Changbin still stares out, but Felix knows he heard Chan. Every single member of the pit crew tries to look like they’re not listening to the conversation, but they are. Intently. Felix is, too, and he doesn’t even have any other chance, since he’s sitting only on the other side of the plane, not in the farthest corner. Seungmin is sitting opposite to Felix, he’s texting someone, and Felix has a hunch of who’s receiving the hundred heart emojis.

The hum of the airplane is slightly comforting, but not enough to calm down Felix’s racing heart. This turn of events is really not for his liking, but then again, does he really have a control of anything? Isn’t he just a meatbag tossed around by the universe? That’s how he feels. And he feels, and feels, and feels a little too much right now, as his eyes scan over to Changbin, who’s finally turned to face Chan. He feels, and usually he's in control of his own feelings, but now he’s not. And it scares him.

“We were.”

It’s that same click again in his head, something linking together. It’s the sudden warmth spreading in Felix’s chest. He feels like he’s on the fast lane, behind the wheel of his car, speeding through the unending crossroads and against the red lights. Yet he’s sitting on that soft seat of the airplane, a cup of coffee in his hand.  
  


Ah.

It’s a feeling he hasn’t felt in a long time. And never because of another person.

“Then what the hell happened?”  
Changbin shrugs:  
“Got lost in thought.”  
“You can’t get lost in thought in the middle of a race! Make sure that never happens again.” Felix can hear the annoyance in Chan’s voice. He feels like he should do something, say something, it’s not just Changbin’s fault, if it wasn’t for Felix staring back, nothing like this would have happened. If it wasn’t for Felix standing right there, nothing like this would have happened.

“And your father-“  
“My father this and my father that. Do you think I don’t know the consequences? Do you think I haven’t thought of what I did wrong? I have Hwang Hyunjin to remind me of that every single day for the rest of my life, I don’t need you to do that. Do you think he didn’t already clown me for forgetting how to speed through the pit road? Or that he didn’t shove his fucking golden trophy right into my face? Do you think I haven’t read the articles saying the throned triumvirate is breaking up?”

And with that Changbin stands up, briskly walking towards the bathroom at the back of the airplane.

***

The next day flies past fast, the air in the garage is tense. Hyunjin had dropped by earlier on his way to practice.  
“Oh, Changbin, I missed you so much up on that podium! The press says our little trio has been broken up, that’s so sad! You gotta step up your game for the next race, I want you there, too. The interviewers were so annoying, I missed your snarky silence in there.”

To everyone’s surprise, Changbin had just nodded. He hadn’t shown his annoyance, he hadn’t thrown any remarks bordering on mean at Hyunjin. He had just nodded:  
“I’ll be there in Paris.” Was the only thing Changbin had said, as he turned back to his car. He had said it calmly, with dignity, and there had been a bloom of proudness in Felix’s chest.

And to Felix’s surprise, he finds the boy waiting for him in front of the garage on the outer side of the circuit again, a phone in his hand, radio blasting those same summer hits for the third time today.  
“I thought you’d be gone already.” Felix hops in the car, dropping his backpack on the floor. He knows he should get a new one, the one he’s using is slowly breaking apart, the shoulder straps barely hanging on to the fabric. Changbin hums and attaches his phone to the holder next to the wheel. He doesn’t need a navigator anymore, he knows the way to Felix’s place by his heart now. Felix leans back on the seat and doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t bring up the race. He doesn’t bring up the loss. He doesn’t bring up the odd stare that cost Changbin his win. And Changbin doesn’t talk about any of those things either, in fact, they sit in silence.

Until Changbin breaks it.  
“I uhm… I suppose you haven’t progressed with your project?”  
“I haven’t.” Felix stares ahead, he doesn’t look at Changbin. This isn’t very usual for him, and it feels a little odd. Usually he’s straightforward, he doesn’t avoid human contact, but now even looking at Changbin feels so … odd. Unnatural. Like fireworks in his chest. Exciting and terrifying.  
“Do you… uhm… would you like some help?”

Would he? Would Felix want some help, even if he knows damn well he doesn’t really need it? He’s perfectly capable of fixing the car himself, he knows exactly what to do, where to get all the spare parts he still needs to get. He even has a buyer for the car he’s currently working on.  
“Sure.” He still says. He doesn’t need help. He needs something else.

***

Changbin gets back onto the podium. Felix makes sure he’s changing the rear tires in Paris instead of front tires. He stays out of the way, nearly avoids him during the day of the race. Changbin is the third, he’s back in the game and it’s all the press can talk about. Minho waves his golden trophy and when asked how he’s feeling, he very humbly answers:  
“I’m genuinely here just for a laugh.” And after that Changbin is forgotten and all the press talks about is Minho – is he not interested in racing? What did he mean by that? Is this some kind of joke to him?

Felix knows it is. He’s heard it himself, when Minho dropped by to give Chan a big smooch on the cheek while they were repairing one of Changbin’s race car’s wheels. And Felix is pretty certain he was not supposed to hear it.   
“I still don’t know why I’m doing this, I’m good and all that but it just doesn’t give me the thrill anymore. You do, sugar.”

***

“And then I sped through the fast line and made it to the first place! And finally got the admission to the Youth Grand Prix.” Changbin has a wide smile tugging the corners of his mouth. He has a wrench in his hand, the sleeves of his black hoodie are rolled up. He’s got grease on his cheek and the high of his eyebrow. Felix knows he’s not better, they’re changing oils and bolts and everything that can be changed because half-way through repairing the cylinders for the engine, Felix realized the whole oiling system was rusted and needed to be changed. So his little project just got a whole lot more expensive.

It’s an old car, straight from the soil of America. Changbin had nearly fallen to his knees when he had first seen it. Cadillac De Ville, from the fifties. Felix needs to repaint it, too, the baby blue is rusted and faded. He plans on painting it red. Not for any particular reason. He just likes red. He didn’t like red that much a while ago.  
“Wasn’t it just a few years ago? When are you going to get admission to the real Grand Prix?”  
“Are you saying Youth Grand Prix isn’t real?” Changbin sticks his tongue out to Felix as he takes a few nuts form his hand and bends over the open hood of the car.  
“You know what I mean.” Felix laughs.

They’re in Felix’s garage, a few blocks away form his house. Or well, technically it’s his godfather’s garage, but Felix has the access to it since his godfather doesn’t need it. It’s a rather cramped garage, there’s shelves all over the walls in a messy order, filled with anything and everything Felix would ever need in his projects and a little more. A few boxes that contain old magazines and whatnot lie at the back of the garage. Garbage bags full of old clothes his godfather still hasn’t got rid of. The fluorescent yellow light illuminating the room nearly hurts Felix’s eyes. It’s that sort of light that makes one forget the time and place they’re in, the sort of light that blends days into nights and suddenly its 5 in the morning even if Felix swears they haven’t been in the garage for more than three hours.

The door is open, the small street outside leading to a bigger street quiet and dark. Felix can see the sky is slowly lighting up, marking the beginning of yet another day. He’s glad he doesn’t have to be at work until noon, because he’s dead tired, and so is Changbin, but neither of them just wants to leave. Or so it seems to Felix. He can’t really see inside Changbin, even if he’s learning to understand him better.

The most important realization he has got during these past days, fixing the car in his garage, just chilling and chatting and being with each other, is that underneath all the mean layers, Changbin is shy. He’s shy, and that is something he tries to cover up with being snarky, having that bitchy look on his face and that attitude that leaves the outsiders cold. Second of all, he’s not very sure of himself. More than once Felix has found him doubting his skills as a driver, and Felix feels a little sad about that. And he’s lonely. When Felix had asked about his friends, Changbin had become rather quiet. Ah, homeschooled his whole life. Always on the move with his family. Felix had then and there decided that he’d become Changbin’s friend. Someone he could trust. Because he genuinely likes his company. Underneath all of those thick layers, Changbin is funny, he’s kind, he’s smart, he’s everything and it’s a little overwhelming.

Third of all, Felix feels a lot of other things as well. For example, he feels warm. He feels warm every time Changbin looks at him with that smile on his face, he feels warm every time he realizes the boy is comfortable around him, showing his colors, laughing loudly, his nose crinkling, eyes alive. He feels so warm, and it feels so odd. Felix has never really been the one to have crushes, not really. There had been a time in his life when he had thought he wasn’t even capable of getting one, but now he has one. He had already accepted it, that he just wasn’t the type to have crushes or strong feelings for people in general – but now he has one, and then he just… accepts it again. He’s never been much into defining himself, anyway. He just goes with the flow. And now he has a crush on Changbin. Perhaps he would like to hold his hand. Kiss him under the moonlight and all that. But he doesn’t do that, because he’s never really had a crush before, and he doesn’t really know what to do with it.

Felix leans against the side of the car, the conversation trailing on and on. The windows in the building opposite to the garage light up, someone’s heading for work already. The surroundings, the city feels like it’s waking up from its deep slumber.  
“It’s crazy, I know right? Anyways, how come you still haven’t told me how you learned how to drive?”

Changbin thinks he’s sneaky enough, but Felix simply snorts at him. Changbin has a hopeful smile on his face, and it’s beautiful. Everything about him is so beautiful. The full cheeks. The eyes that turn to little crescents ever time he smiles. The golden, tanned skin. And Felix has to admit it to himself – there’s something about seeing him in his ordinary clothes, out of his racing suit.  
“C’mon! You can trust me, I won’t tell anyone, if it’s that big of a secret.” Oh, it is, and at the same time it isn’t. The thought of telling scares Felix, and he knows it’s because street racing is widely frowned upon among the community, and it is something that he would rather not see leak through the cracks to the mass media.

Changbin shuts the hood of the car and circles it to stand next to Felix. Felix pulls his gloves off, he feels grimy, he knows there’s oil in his hair and he’s going to have a bad time getting it off later. He swallows, a bit nervous. Perhaps it’s irrational. Changbin isn’t the type to hate someone because they have done a few… not so good things in the past.  
“I’ve already told you. Same as you.”  
“So training and more training?”  
“Yeah. Just not very legally.” And it’s there.

It takes a moment for Changbin to understand what Felix means. When he finally does, he blinks in surprise, mouth opening just slightly.  
“You? You were a street racer?”

Felix nods. He doesn’t really have any other choice, he can’t back off now.  
“Holy fuck! Do you still do that?”

Felix shakes his head. The bewilderment on Changbin’s face turns to something akin joy and excitement.  
“That’s so cool! In Sydney? Is that the reason you moved away?” This isn’t the reaction Felix had anticipated, but he’s more than glad about it.  
“No. I never got caught.”  
“Never got caught?! So how good are you actually.”

Felix shrugs, somehow feeling a little shy all of a sudden.  
“Good enough that I was a worthy opponent. Good enough that after three blocks the police stopped chasing me because they couldn’t catch me.”

Changbin shakes his head, as if it’s a bit hard to grasp the concept of Felix behind a wheel, racing through the nightly streets of Sydney.  
“You know you can’t tell anyone about this, right?” Felix mumbles. Changbin nods, all serious.  
“Of course not, I get it.”

Until he isn’t so serious anymore:  
“But I want to know everything! What kind of car did you have? Who taught you? Did you end up in any accidents?”

***

Felix notices it, how he comes to work early just to see Felix do the test laps with his car, even on the days he doesn’t have to. He lingers around, never looking directly, mostly standing beside Chan and talking to him, but Felix knows he’s the reason Changbin is there. One day he lets Felix drive them back to his godfather’s garage, and he’s hesitant at first – The Roadster is expensive, and Felix isn’t familiar with it. But Changbin insists, as he always does, and Felix drives them back. Changbin is rather quiet the whole journey, but Felix does not miss the way his gaze lingers on his hands, gripping on the steering wheel.

***

The crowd cheers in Sofia, deafeningly loud. Changbin is third again. The champagne rain drenches him from head to toe. Their knuckles brush together as they walk past the streets of the beautiful city, the sun setting behind them. The luxury hotel they are staying in feels too suffocating, so they’re out. Felix has a craving for pasta and something else.

***

The weeks pass. Berlin is lively as ever. Jeongin is also there, the competition he’s in is the day before Youth Grand Prix. The circuit is one of the hardest in the game, multiple turns and curves. The race is seconds away, the racers are waiting for the announcement to step in their cars and enter the road. Felix is standing next to Changbin, their shoulders nearly touching.

Felix doesn’t really know what it is, or well, yes, he does, but he turns towards the boy in the small moment of weakness. He lifts his hand to his collar, as if fixing something. The warm gaze he gets in return burns through him, lighting him up like the endless roads of Sydney had once done.  
“Good luck.” Felix murmurs as he lets his fingers linger on the collar before sliding down Changbin’s chest slightly, back to his own sides. Changbin’s breath hitches, but Felix doesn’t hear it.  
“Thanks.” He mumbles, and then the announcement reverberates through the air.

***

Felix isn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. He wants, he wants and he wants and he _wants_ , just something, anything, he wants a hug, a little touch, everything Changbin can offer him. But the problem lies in there – he doesn’t know if Changbin can offer him those. It isn’t entirely up to Felix, there’s a whole another person involved in this. But he wants, he craves, ne needs, and he just lets himself do that.

But he doesn’t do anything else. He’s afraid to do so. He has always thought of himself as a straightforward person who rarely thinks before he acts, but now he can’t help but just think and think and think some more. He thinks about Changbin. He thinks about his crush towards him. A multimillionaire racer, a star, everything that Felix isn’t. And the insecurities set in again, Felix doesn’t think he’s enough. Changbin deserves so much better, the best, and Felix isn’t sure if he can offer that himself. And he knows the thought process he has isn’t logical, it’s far from it, but he can’t help himself. He’s always been so sure about everything, and now he’s not sure about anything.

Changbin sits next to him in the airplane, his head nodding every now and then, eyes closed. He’s tired, Felix reaches for his head and gently guides it to lean against his shoulder. Changbin is familiar, he’s comforting, and he drools against Felix’s shoulder. It should be disgusting. but it isn’t, not to Felix. Never to Felix.

***

“Hello? Earth to Felix and Changbin?” Felix has to tear his eyes away from Changbin. He’s sitting on an oil barrel, he’s dirty as fuck, and Changbin is no better. Changbin is just showing him something from his phone, too close, way too close, his arm rests just behind Felix, a breath of air, way too small, between them. They’re in their own world, the world that they have been occupying quite a lot recently. Changbin looks up, slightly embarrassed.  
“It’s nearly eleven in the evening, why are you still here?”  
“It is? Oh, we didn’t even notice.” Felix laughs, Chan scoffs at him. He has a little, knowing smile on his lips. Changbin doesn’t question why Chan is still at the garages, he hears there’s a car waiting outside, and he also knows it belongs to Minho.

Chan rolls his eyes before shutting the door leading to the front yard of the venue.  
“Just the little lovebirds. Let’s go.” Felix hears Chan say through the door.

***

Hong Kong leaves everyone behind in the competition for grandeur. Even the halls of the venue shine in silvery chrome, the garages are filled with the newest high-tech technology. Felix feels out of place, like he doesn’t belong here. Hyunjin says hi to him as Felix is walking towards their stall, third in the row. He has a permanent little grin on his face, Felix is already used to it.  
“Good luck!” He says to the racer, his green and violet suit already on, catching attention.  
“Thanks, you too.” The boy smiles, and then Felix reaches for their own garage.

Changbin is still changing his clothes and getting ready, the training laps of happy hour have already been done. The venue is bustling, Felix has never seen so many people in one place, yet alone attended a race this huge. Instead of just a few races, it’s a whole weekend filled with different series. Jeongin is there, too. Naturally. He’s the one that’s going to break the throned triumvirate next year, the press says. His smile is worthy of a million dollars.

Felix pulls his overalls properly on, it’s a hot day, and thankfully the material of the red overalls isn’t thick. He’s just about to put his earpieces on as Seungmin walks up to him, already in gear. There’s yelling outside, the announcers telling the crowd who’s competing and with what kind of cars.  
“What’s up?” Felix asks Seungmin. The boy looks a little wary. His energy is different. He looks almost sad.  
“Did you hear the news?” He asks, there’s a hint of wavering in his voice. Felix turns to him, they’re standing next to the race car. The rest of the pit crew are in the garage, too, Chan is with Changbin god knows where. The race is only minutes away, and they should hurry back soon.

“I… I’m leaving for Hyunjin’s team after this race.”  
“What?!” Felix can’t contain his shock. This is a surprise to him, sure, he knows there’s something going on between Seungmin and Hyunjin, but this? Felix wouldn’t have expected this.  
“Yeah. I’m sorry. They… they offered me another sort of job, and you know, I would like to make progress in this field, make it to team leader one day and I know I can’t do that here, at least not yet…” Seungmin looks a little resentful. This is something he’s told Felix before, that he wants to be better, he wants to be one of the bests. Felix just didn’t think the time would be just yet. But he’s quick to get over the shock, he knows the team can afford to lose Seungmin, in a way, there will be place for improvement and for someone new to progress with their own talents and fill in the gap that Seungmin is going to leave. Sure, Felix is going to miss him, they work well together as a team, but he knows he’ll work just as well with any other member of the pit crew.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up for it.” Felix lifts a hand to Seungmin’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly.  
“I know you want to make progress and advance, if you feel that this is the right time and place for it, then go for it!” A little smile stretches over Seungmin’s features, he most likely knew to anticipate Felix’s reaction.  
“Have you told Changbin yet?” Both of them know he’s not going to take it well.  
“Not yet. I don’t want to stress him just before the race. I’ll tell him after, he’ll get a few weeks to get adjusted before the Grand Prix continues in the Americas.”

“Tell me what?” Felix feels his stomach drop at the familiar voice. The look on Seungmin’s face turns horrified as he turns towards Changbin. He’s standing there, the helmet propped under his arm, looking good as ever. He hasn’t pulled the zipper of his racing suit completely up just yet, leaving a sliver of neck exposed.

“Uhm. Hi, Changbin.” Seungmin stammers. It isn’t very like him, usually he’s straightforward and gets to the point easily. And he’s usually not afraid of speaking his mind. This isn’t one of those times.  
“Tell me what, Seungmin?” Felix knows, there lies danger in his voice, in the arch of his eyebrow.  
“I- uh, I’m changing teams after this race. My contract is ending.”

There’s a few heartbeats of silence. Until a distorted frown settles into Changbin’s features:  
“What?!” He shrieks, there’s a halt inside the pit stall, Chan takes a few steps back to get out of the way of the havoc that’s about to happen. Felix just knows this isn’t going to end well, Seungmin has always been there for Changbin, he’s been his rock in the storm, safe and support through thick and thin. Changbin swallows, a little lost, a little confused, a little angry.  
“Who? Whose team are you changing to?”

Seungmin remains quiet. He remains quiet for long enough for Changbin to understand what Seungmin is so afraid of.  
“It’s Hyunjin isn’t it?” He whimpers. He sounds broken. He sounds betrayed. Seungmin nods, hesitantly.

Changbin turns around, takes a few steps, then back, a few steps, he doesn’t know what to do, how to handle this. Felix wants to hug him, assure him that it’s going to be okay, it’s for the best of them, and for the best of Seungmin. Nothing is going to change, Seungmin will still stop by their garage every day. They’re just going to get a new pit crew member. But Changbin hates change, he hates adjusting, he hates losing, and he’s bad at handling himself. But he eventually always does accept change and adjusting and losing, it just takes some time for him to do that. Felix doesn’t blame him for it, he really doesn’t, that’s just how some people are. And it’s Hyunjin. My god, it’s Hyunjin’s team Seungmin is changing to.

“Really? Hyunjin’s team.”  
“Changbin, it’s nothing-“  
“Nothing?! It’s nothing? You’re changing to Hwang fucking Hyunjin’s team and it’s nothing? What, next up you’re going to tell him every single trick I have on my sleeve while racing? How my car is constructed?”  
“Of course not, you know damn well it’s part of the contract to not-“  
“Oh, yeah, it’s part of the contract, alright. Honestly, Seungmin, after all we have been through? Hwang fucking Hyunjin.” There’s so much bitterness in his voice. Felix knows Changbin is going to say something he’s going to regret sooner or later, he feels like he has to step in. 

“Yeah, I know-“  
“I don’t think you do. All these years, and you’re just tossing them away like that?”  
“Changbin, calm down.” Chan voices from the background while he’s talking on the phone. He looks distressed.  
“Honestly, Seungmin, fuck you. Go fuck yourself. This is because you’re dating him, isn’t it? I can’t believe you have stooped that low. You’re changing to his team because you’re dating him? Is that it? I can’t believe you!”  
“Don’t bring him into this.” The tips of Seungmin’s ears are tinting red.  
“Why? It’s so fucking obvious that’s the reason you’re changing!”  
“It’s not-“ And oh, how Felix can hear it, how the always so stoic and calm Seungmin is getting mad. Real mad.  
“Cut the bullshit, Seungmin, I know you.”  
“Well, I guess you don’t!” And now Seungmin has raised his voice as well. Felix doesn’t know what to do, he’s just there, trying to come up with something, anything.  
  


  
“Hwang Hyunjin.” Changbin scoffs: “your standards are really that low? You’re really lusting after acceptance so bad you lower your standards that much?” And that seems to hit a nerve.  
“At least I have the guts to ask my fucking hopeless and stupid crush out instead of just waiting for him to make a move!”  
“Don’t talk about Felix like that!”

Felix freezes. Seungmin freezes. Changbin freezes. Like deer in headlights. Felix feels all of the warmth in his body surge to his cheeks. It takes a moment for him to process what Changbin has just said. He looks horrified. Scared. Afraid. Slowly he turns his gaze from Seungmin to Felix. Felix doesn’t know what to say, he simply stares back, frozen in time. What did he just say? Did he just refer Felix as his fucking hopeless and stupid crush?

“Drivers, please take your positions.” Blares through the speakers.

***

Felix moves through a haze. He’s lost. He’s so confused, yet somehow he’s never been this sure of anything in his life. It all feels so wrong. And so right. He’s torn. There’s a whirlwind in his head, and he’s never experienced such. He feels nauseous, and he’s still in the cloud nine.

Felix changes the tires faster than he ever has. Seungmin has a hard time keeping up with him. Felix doesn’t look at Changbin, he doesn’t look his way, he’s careful, he doesn’t want to disturb him. All of his thoughts, his senses are filled with the racer boy. He wants, he craves, he yearns, and he knows this isn’t the place for him to do that, but he can’t help it. He watches him through the monitor, he passes by Hyunjin, he’s on the second place. There’s only so much left of the race, it’s a hard one, and definitely not the kind of track that Changbin considers as his strong point. But he’s there. He’s surpassed Hyunjin, inch by inch, another curve, the another, he blocks his way. It all happens so fast, and Felix isn’t entirely in control of himself, and he can’t force down the gasp as Changbin surpasses Minho, leaving him for the second place. He’s first. Changbin is first.

And then he races over the finish line.

Felix can’t contain the shriek of joy that leaves his lungs.

***

The golden trophy in front of Changbin glimmers in the sunlight, he’s slightly smiling on the podium, holding it. Changbin looks at the trophy in his hands with an unreadable expression, as if he can’t believe that he just won the race and lifted himself to second place in the overall scores of the season. Felix feels proud, he feels so immensely proud and happy and everything, he feels everything, and Seungmin has to drag him from the collar of his overalls back to the garage, where Chan thrusts a champagne bottle to his hands.

“It’s the first victory of the season, he deserves this.” And Felix agrees, oh, he does. It’s a habit for the winners to spray the champagne after the race over themselves and their co-racers, and this win is no different. But as all crews, the Seo team have their own habit, which is to completely drench the driver in champagne after he wins his first race of the year. Felix shakes the bottle vigorously, loosens the cork just a smidgen. He’s smiling. And he’s just so damn proud of Changbin. He must have been under immense stress, and he still won. He still won. More than just the trophy. Felix’s heart (though, that he had already won weeks ago).

“He’s coming! Take positions!” Chan commands, quiet, as he stands just next to the door leading to the garage from the hall. Suddenly Felix feels all jumpy, anticipating, his skin crawls and he isn’t sure if he likes it or not. Then the door opens, and Changbin stands there, in his whole glory, the trophy in his hands, hair disheveled and dripping. The smile on his face blinds Felix momentarily.

“Congrats, loverboy!” Chan yells as he pulls the cork from his champagne bottle and the liquid shoots out, rising towards the roof, spraying everywhere. The rest of the pit crew follow, yelling, but Felix doesn’t. He stares, nearly frozen, the time seems to stop. Changbin tries to shield himself from the champagne rain, failing miserably. His laugh sends electricity through Felix, every single fiber of his being setting ablaze.

And then he sees Changbin look at him, just for a brief moment, the corners of his mouth dropping just a little. That’s not right. Felix wants to see his crush happy, he’s just won.

Crush. Yeah.

And he’s Changbin’s crush. As hard as he finds it to believe.

Felix shoves the bottle in his hands to Seungmin, he forgets the entire world around him. He takes a step forward, then another, he feels the champagne drip down his back, soak his hair, it blinds him for a second, pricks his eyes.

And then he cups Changbin’s face with his hands and crashes their lips together.

All the noise around them fades away. Changbin stands stunned for a moment, but then Felix feels the arms wrapping around his waist, pull him in closer. Changbin’s lips are warm, Felix melts. He tastes sweet and sour, and Felix knows it’s the champagne. Then Changbin turns his head just a tiny bit, and Felix doesn’t know anything at all anymore, every single coherent thought flying out of the window.

It’s sweet, it’s sticky, Felix is drenched in champagne, but so is Changbin. Felix’s other hand slides from Changbin’s cheek to the back of his neck, the other still cupping his face. He’s spinning. He’s breathless. He’s kissing Changbin. He’s kissing that bitchy racer, made of stone, cold and distant. He’s kissing the only person who has ever made him feel like he’s driving on a fast lane, with nothing but straight, open road ahead of him. He’s kidding the only person who’s ever been able to give him the same thrill.

Felix finally has to break apart to breathe, his mind returning to the moment. There’s hollering around him (“Get a room!” “Ewww!” “That’s so cute!”). He’s soaked, wet from head to toe, sticky and a little disgusting, but he doesn’t mind it. Not, when there’s Changbin’s arms wrapped around him, holding him close. Changbin looks winded, dumbfounded, and everything Felix has ever craved for. A little giggle bubbles from Felix’s chest, trickling through his lips.  
“I like you too, you know.” He mumbles, only for Changbin to hear.

And there’s a small smile on Changbin’s face, and Felix knows it’s only for him. Then Changbin’s lips are on his again, Felix laughs into the kiss. He feels euphoric. Weightless. Changbin is his aphrodisiac.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! it's been awhile since i have released anything else than my longfic, so this feels sorta exhilarating. i hope y'all liked this, i sure had the time of my life writing this as the style is a little bit different from what i usually do (meaning this leans a bit more to the stream of consciousness-style than my normal story-telling). this also got a liiiitttle longer than i first anticipated it to, my orginal plan was at ~8k words and somehow this turned out to be nearly double of that. 
> 
> also first of all, i'm sorry for at least a hundred mistakes, i don't know anything abt cars nor car racing, i can barely drive one myself. second of all, sorry for making changbin a bit of an ass, however, people aren't perfect and neither are my characters. 
> 
> anyways, thank you, yes you right there, so so incredibly much for reading this! i hope you have a great day and the rest of the week. i love u and u have my heart, mwah! 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/dulcetchan)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dulcetchan)


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